Swoon's Punk Beasts and Swimming Cities

This reminds me of some of the festivals I saw when visiting Thailand 2 summers ago. They are very into their decorated boats (and Tuk Tuks) over there.

hey all, seems opinions are pretty-well fomented, but to set the records straight:

Swoon and her/our friends are barely scraping by, financially. We fundraised for the project through weekly events in NY, and participation in art shows. Swoon raised additional funds through the sale of her art. She has no money otherwise and sinks all income back into her projects and to help support her friends. She's amazingly generous with her hard work. Upon our return the crew all immediately resumed their/our metal-shop, carpentry, whathaveyou jobs. We all work hard (most of the time).

at least half the crew gave up apartments and jobs to participate. No one, that I know of, has a trust fund. A couple crew members even have children to support. In slovenia we lived in the shipping containers and worked all day every day to make the rafts and secure necessary permits and berthing, etc. Swoon lost a couple fingernails in the process. We all pushed it physically and otherwise.

what else: relevance. We did scrap all materials and were a self-funded and self-organized project. We also brought art from Slovenia to and coastal Italian towns to an elite/effete art show uninvited, and left with friends rather than enemies. We successfully navigated the Adriatic and Italian bureaucracy (there are 9 different kinds of police there and 8 coast guard jurisdictions between Koper and Venice).

I'm proud of what we managed to accomplish. A bit of hard-work and risk-taking isn't a bad thing to inject into the art-scene. And yes, it was fun too sometimes.

that's awesome. it looks like, if nothing else, one hell of a fucking adventure.

I hear the next big art happening is off the coast of Somalia. Get paddling!

Gothamist is a bunch of haters. The ships are beautiful and all built from salvage. You grumps are just jealous because you sit in front of a computer all day while these people are out living and experiencing the world.

Get a life.

We don't hate everything, just the waste of resources on worthless vanity projects passing off as "art"

Another way to waste poor daddy's hard earned money by clueless hipsters. Where are the Somali pirates when you really need them!?

Judgements aside douche-nuts, Tod's photos are dope. For real.

Where does she get the money and time to do this? I wish I had both

www.forgotten-ny.com

Contrary to the current "Green Streak" in society right now, not everything has to be eco to be worthwhile. And I can barely think of any art that actually involves real activism, rather than the lip service and appearance of it. Last time I checked, art was not required to save the world. Nor has any of it attempted to.

Not entirely true on your last statement, however, relative to the post, I absolutely agree.

Shiptsers! hilarious. Sort of a floating burning man thing, for better or worse. I like Swoon's work, but this does seem completely self indulgent and affected. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

This is cool, and this is fun, but let's not spin this as anything other than pure self-gratifying indulgence. It is not Eco, it is not saying anything, it is not activism. It reminds me of Ken Kesey, but without the cultural relevance.

LSD would have actually helped this operation in the 'relevance' department.

Swoon grew up in a trailer in Florida, no trust fund there. She's also one of the hardest working artists out there. But you didn't know that, chuzzlewit, because you have no idea what you're talking about here, do you?

jesus wept.

thats rad.. wish i could've gone on of those

Your tears are delicious, dear commenters. Must suck not to have any fun in life, huh?

right. like inventing your own manifest destiny and then living it while traveling with your friends to beautiful locales AND blowing people's peanuts with your art is fun.

now pull the other one.

Shipsters.

yeah. you mean while taking a break from sitting around on her ass and spending her daddy's trust fund.